Athearn ATHG30623 GP18 Lehigh Valley #305 Locomotive HO Scale

LV FEATURES:
Nathan 3-chime horn
Dynamic brakes
Winterization hatch
Forward facing fuel tank
Pilot mounted footboards
One of the anthracite roads of the northeast U.S., Lehigh Valley bought four GP18s (built in mid-1960) numbered 302-305. The units served throughout the 1960s and into the mid-1970s. Lehigh Valley was folded into the U.S. government’s bailout of Penn Central and became a founding member of Conrail in 1976. The collection of four GP18s went on from Lehigh Valley to serve Conrail as 7496-7499. The units initially wore patched out Lehigh Valley dress with “CR” markings and all eventually saw repainting into Conrail blue. Among the four GP18s, 304 was rebuilt with a chopped nose during the time it worked for Lehigh Valley; the other three retained high short hoods.

ROAD NUMBER SPECIFIC FEATURES:
#302
1964 era Tuscan red scheme
#303
1964 era Tuscan red scheme
#305
1971 era Cornell Red scheme with large letters and barrier stripes. Modified “cut” conductor’s side skirt
Long hood mounted paper air filter box
Flat-top dynamic brake fan

GP18 SERIES LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:
Full cab interior
Wire grab irons
Coupler cut levers
See-through cab windows
Flexible rubber trainline hose
Flexible rubber MU hoses
Drop steps unless noted
“Nub” style walkway tread
Lift rings
Sander lines
Windshield wipers
MU stands
Bell placement & type per prototype
Etched metal radiator intake grilles and fan grilles
Air tanks mounted below sill unless noted
Blomberg-B trucks with appropriate bearing caps
Speed recorder unless noted
Accurately-painted and –printed paint schemes
Body-mounted McHenry® operating scale knuckle couplers
Fully-assembled and ready-to-run
DCC-ready features Quick Plug™ plug-and-play technology with 21-pin NEM connector
Scaled from prototype resources including drawings, field measurements, photographs, and more
Fine-scale Celcon handrails for scale appearance
Detailed fuel tank with fuel fillers, fuel gauges, breather pipes, and retention tanks
Genesis driveline with 5-pole skew wound motor, precision machined flywheels, and multi-link drivetrain
All-wheel drive with precision gears for smooth & quiet operation
All-wheel electrical pickup provides reliable current flow
Wheels with RP25 contours operate on all popular brands of track
Bidirectional constant LED lighting so headlight brightness remains constant
Heavy die-cast frame for greater traction and more pulling power
Packaging securely holds model for safe storage
Minimum radius: 18” — Recommended radius: 22”
PRIMED FOR GRIME MODELS FEATURE
Duplicated look and feel of “In Service” equipment
Faded base colors matched to the prototype
Perfect starting point for adding grime and rust
SOUND-EQUPPED MODELS ALSO FEATURE
Onboard DCC decoder with SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound
Dual cube speakers for optimal sound quality
Sound units operate in both DC and DCC
Full DCC functions available when operated in DCC mode
Engine, horn, and bell sounds work in DC
All functions NMRA compatible in DCC mode
Precision slow speed control
PROTOTYPE SPECIFIC INFORMATION
The EMD GP18 began production in late 1959 and was based on the builder’s extraordinarily successful GP9, although the latter model was still in production at the time. The GP18 is considered the last of the builder’s “first generation” models. Similar in appearance to the GP7 and GP9, the GP18 was slightly more powerful and came with the option of a low or high short cab hood, something that had only been upon special request with EMD’s first two road switcher models. It used the final version of General Motors first locomotive prime mover, the 16-cylinder model 567D1 which could produce 1,800 horsepower, the most powerful in the series up to that time. At just over 56 feet in length the GP18 was the same length as its predecessor models and was visually very similar, with the exception of new radiator grills which were also used on the GP20.

While thousands of GP7s and GP9s were produced just a few hundred GP18s were ultimately built for a little more than two dozen railroads. Today, several GP18s remain in operation on numerous short lines and industrial operations around the country.

Product Specifications
Axles 4
Sub Brand GENESIS
DCC Ready/21-Pin NEM
Lighted LED
Sound Ready
Reporting Mark GTW
Scale HO
Era 1941-1970, 1971-1990
Prototype Manufacturer EMD